Shaykh Safar al-Hawali on America

[Daniel]

Saudi-U.S. Relations and the U.S. War on Terror

"…The relations between America and us differ from the relations between us and all the other peoples or nations. These are relations between two [very] different nations: One is a nation that was chosen by Allah, who tested it and purified it with disasters so that it will atone for its sins. Allah is using that nation in order to wave the banner of truth and justice on the face of the earth. This is our nation. There is also a tyrannous and evil nation that Allah is manipulating, unbeknownst to it, until it reaches the end to which it is sentenced – the same end that was the lot of all the nations of heresy, tyranny, and aggression such as the peoples of Noah, 'Aad, Thamud, and Pharaoh."

"Since World War II, America has not been a democratic republic; it has become a military empire after the Roman model. It is even more abhorrent because its administration is ruled by the pressure groups that are the most dangerous to the human race – the companies that create destruction and sell arms. Therefore, the American way can be discerned and defined in one word: war. America unhesitatingly enters into war anywhere in the world – unless it assesses that the benefit of such a war will not satisfy its insatiable appetite. Then it calls for a kind of peace that will permit American companies to sign profitable contracts, with the aim of usurping resources under the slogan of cooperation in development. Thus, we notice that America is always seeking an enemy – and if it does not find one… it creates one and inflates it using its terrible media to persuade its people's conscience that the war it has declared is necessary [and] for a just cause. It is known that the struggle against Communism served as a pretext for starting wars in more than 40 countries across the world… These wars have cost the lives of tens of millions and made hundreds of millions live in backwardness, struggle, poverty, and the humiliation familiar to the entire world…"

"[The U.S. arms manufacturers] exploited the events of September 11… The generals of destruction and annihilation snatched the initiative from the great global usurers, and Bush, who entered the White House limping – and who apparently will never seek to enter it again – declared a long-term and extensive war against a dimensionless and borderless enemy – that is, against the artificial illusion of so-called 'terrorism'…"

"As everyone knows, many commentators and intellectuals within and without America were dumbfounded by the weakness of the American excuses, by the violation of values and standards, and by the unending contradictions [in American policies]. But one group of observers was not surprised – the group of Islamic observers who monitor the state of the world and its changes through the prism of the Qur'an. This group did not need to wait for Bush to declare that it is a Crusader war, and that Sharon is a man of peace, because it already says in the Koran: 'Their hatred has been expressed in words, and that which they design is even more virulent.' (Qur'an, 3:118) Fourteen centuries ago Allah exposed [what] they design, warned us against supporting them, and called on us to call to them [to join the religion of] Allah, and to wage Jihad…"

The Future of Saudi-U.S. Relations

"America and its supporters must know that if it extends its hand to attack the land of the two holy places [Saudi Arabia], it will have no protection from the cruelty of God and the vengeance of the soldiers of Allah, the mujahidin. It will have no protection, even if it digs a hole in the earth or seeks refuge in space. Holes in the ground in which to hide every time a plane deviates from its course will not help those who put forth this kind of proposal …"

"We demand that America apologize to our nation and promise that statements of this kind [about nuking Mecca] will never be repeated by anyone, whether in the administration, in Congress, or in the media. We leave the options open before them. If they choose the path of truth and justice, they will find no one more just than we. But if they choose oppression and aggression, they will find no one who loves martyrdom more than we [do], and no one more willing to die – as this is the hope of every man in this land. While the American young people, including Clinton, evade military service, our young people meticulously do this service…"

Source: http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Pa...=sd&ID=SP40002

[MosDef]

Is a attack on the two Masjids a graver issue than say the occupation of al-Quds? Which is also a American state i.e. Israel. From an Islamic point of view?

Just a observation...

[Daniel]

Sheikh Salman Al-'Odeh: "Is Resistance to the Occupier in Palestine, Iraq, or Any Other Country Considered Terrorism?"

In a March 2, 2005 TV interview, Sheikh Salman Al-'Odeh claimed that similar communiqués had been issued in the past. The following are excerpts from the interview:

"[the communiqué] deals with the Iraqi people's right to resist the occupiers. Such things have [already] been published on behalf of the Council of Senior Ulama in Saudi Arabia. [Moreover,] the same fatwa was issued by Sheikh Al-Azhar [as well], even after [the publication of] our communiqué. [Another] fatwa was issued by the International Association of Muslim Scholars [headed by Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi] was also issued, when [the council] convened in Beirut about a month after our fatwa [was issued]... What is new in [our] communiqué? Doesn't America itself say that it is an occupier and [doesn't it] recognize that this is a situation of occupation?..."

Al-'Odeh explained: "It saddens me that [people] are trying to distort the communiqué and are treating it, for example, as a call to the Arab and Muslim peoples to go to Iraq, while our stand on this matter was very clear. We think that this is not in the interests of Iraq or of the peoples of the Islamic world. In addition, many have ignored the numerous other positive meanings of the communiqué, such as the call upon all Iraqis to unite and not to bring about a civil war in Iraq... [as well as the call] not to attack innocent [people] and civilians... but to target only the invader... Is resistance to the occupier in Palestine, Iraq, or any other country considered terrorism? According to international law, it is not terrorism but legitimate resistance, national resistance."

In response to a question whether this is a revolution against the religious establishment, which remains silent and carries out government instructions, Al-'Odeh said: "When there is a vacuum one must fill it one way or another.... It was therefore necessary for everyone to understand that this position, at times presented in the media, is not the prevalent, most highly regarded view, and that there is a different view, which does not accept [this] principle and which believes that it is the right of the Iraqi or Palestinian people or any other occupied people to resist and to defend its liberty and independence."

Source: http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Pa...=sd&ID=SP89605